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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: plane · bowl · rock · cell · clip · chair · rush · band

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rock — a stone
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. clip — a video
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. plane — a tool
  14. chair — a leader
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. cell — in biology
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cell — a phone
  24. rock — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com